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Review: Capri by Fraser – Frankfurthttps://thirdpassport.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/review-capri-by-fraser-frankfurt/
Tue, 22 Aug 2017 17:15:22 +0000http://thirdpassport.wordpress.com/?p=136Frankfurt is probably not a destination that is near the top of most people’s list of Cities to visit for a romantic weekend away however Brexit may lead to an increase in staff relocating from the City of London to Frankfurt, as well as additional visitors coming the German financial capital on business. A fairly recent addition to the city’s accommodation scene is the Capri by Fraser hotel residences.

The Location

The Capri by Fraser islocated at 42 Europa-Allee, opposite the Frankfurt Messe and is therefore an ideal location for anyone visiting the city for a trade show. There are also a few financial institutions in the direct vicinity as well as Tower 185 that houses numerous organisations, including Regus, offering offices to rent.

The hotel is probably less convenient for tourists. I managed to walk to the Alte Oper in about 30 mins, which was fine on a warm Summer day but it would not have been such a pleasant experience later on in the year.

The Accommodation

The hotel offers rooms/apartments of different sizes (and prices). The room I booked and stayed in was a Deluxe Studio and was the cheapest at the time of booking. No breakfast was included in the rate I selected but I picked up a few things from the local supermarket instead.

On entering the studio, there is a kitchenette equipped with a microwave oven, sink, hob and a small fridge. Pots, pans, utensils are provided, as well as two sets of crockery and cutlery. Washing up liquid and brush are also available should you need to wash anything up.

Kitchenette

Next to the kitchen counter, you can also find a kettle with complimentary tea (Ronnenfeldt, my favourite) and instant coffee sachets. Mini containers of milk are available in the fridge. As a tea drinker, I’m always pleased to find a kettle in my hotel room. I’ve stayed in hotels where a Nespresso machine is provided in-room and making a cup of tea is a very messy business!

(Ignore the backpack in the photo, it’s not part of the furnishing ).

What is not very clear in the photo is the little “vanity” area that opens up and contains a mirror, should one wish to sit down comfortable while doing their make-up.

Vanity area

Entertainment-wise, the smart TV with the usual selection of local and international TV channels. The complimentary WiFi connection available in the room was fast and stable. I downloaded a couple of episodes from Netflix to watch on my return flight.

Newspapers and magazines from around the world are available to download for free during your stay (need to be connected to the hotel’s wifi) through the PressReader app on your mobile device (Android) (iOS).

Finally, there is a phone/alarm clock/speaker device on the desk, that can be used to connect your own mobile device (different connectors are available) so that you can listen to your own music/podcasts and charge your mobile device at the same time.

Room

In terms of connectivity, the plugs and ports shown in the photo below are available by the desk. Sockets are also available by the bed.

Power supply

The king-size bed in my room was extremely comfortable and so wide that I couldn’t reach both sides of the mattress at the same time.

Comfortable King-size bed

The bathroom itself was perfectly functional. There was no bathtub in my room but the rain shower was fine and the water pressure adequate. The lighting was good enough to shave with and a magnifying mirror is available for a closer inspection! The bathroom comes with a hair dryer but I did not use it, so no comment on how good/bad it is.

Bathroom

Very bold art in the bedroom, but also quite … ahem … “discreet” (her eyes are covered!).

Art

The toiletries are by Malin+Goetz and the shampoo and body wash smell AMAZING! Sadly, both are provided from dispensers screwed to the wall, so it isn’t possible to take away at the end of the stay. The hair conditioner and body lotion, on the other hand, are available in handy tubes.

Toiletries by Malin+Goetz

A safe, bathrobes, and slippers can be found in the wardrobe.

The Service

Actually, there isn’t much to say about the service. I guess that’s a good thing! The check-in and -out processes were quick and efficient. Staff were very friendly. There was nothing wrong to report or have to deal with.

The Cost

£62.37 including taxes booked through hotels.com (I travel and stay in hotels a lot but I am not particularly loyal to any hotel chain. Booking through Hotels.com means I can collect Hotels.com Rewards and get a free hotel night for every 10 nights booked).

The Verdict

Overall I found the Capri by Fraser hotel excellent value. It only cost me about £10 more than the hotel I stayed in last time I was in Frankfurt and for the quality and size of the accommodation I would say it is well worth it (I had a single bed and a room about third the size in the other hotel). The building is new. The rooms clean. The service is good.

Thumbs up!

]]>Capri by Fraser - FrankfurtthirdpassportCapri by Fraser - Frankfurt - KitchenetteCapri by Fraser - Frankfurt - Vanity areaCapri by Fraser - Frankfurt - RoomCapri by Fraser - Frankfurt - Power supplyCapri by Fraser - Frankfurt - BathroomCapri by Fraser - Frankfurt - ArtCapri by Fraser - FrankfurtEtihad Guest – Goldhttps://thirdpassport.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/etihad-guest-gold/
https://thirdpassport.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/etihad-guest-gold/#commentsWed, 08 Jul 2015 00:08:49 +0000http://thirdpassport.wordpress.com/?p=91I have a confession to make … I have never flown with Etihad. I have heard great things about their premium products and friends who have flown in Economy were (primarily) happy too. As a result, I could be tempted to fly Etihad in the future, especially when travelling to Asia and Australia as I feel that they provide good coverage in those areas, especially when compared with some of the airlines included in Star Alliance, my preferred alliance of the now, due to my Gold status. I have held Gold status with Sky Team and OneWorld before (I had all three at the same time) but sadly that is no longer the case.

I really value lounge access and other benefits that make my travels easier, particularly when travelling longhaul, so I jumped at the chance to have my Star Alliance Gold status matched to Etihad Guest Gold when a promotion was introduced by Etihad a few months ago. The process was fairly straight forward, I sent Etihad Guest an email with a scanned copy of my Aegean Gold card and statement and my details and a few weeks later (it took quite a while!) I had confirmation that my application was successful. At the time I was information that the card would be sent a couple of months later but could print out the confirmation email to take advantage of the benefits if flying before then.

Later I received an email confirming my postal address and phone number and informing me that the card would be sent via DHL. I was starting to feel like a value guest already!

DHL package

Inside the DHL envelope I found a Gold envelope containing all the membership materials.

Envelope

Including a welcome letter explaining the benefits of Gold membership, along with my new card (I have covered the name and membership number that appeared on the card for privacy reasons, but the photograph should give you an idea of what the card looks like).

Welcome letter & card

There is also the option of nominating someone else (e.g. PA) who can manage your account and travel needs for you, just by filling in their details in the form below and sending it back to the Etihad Guest customer services team.

3rd party nomination form

My favourite feature of all is the two luggage tags. They look and feel great. I just now have to decide whether I replace my Lufthansa Senator luggage tag with these! I think it will depend on the airline I’m flying with at the time.

I had an email yesterday from Swiss advertising a new offer available from the London to Switzerland, travelling in Business Class for the price of economy. The fare is bookable on the Swiss website. Just do a search for your preferred travel dates and select the “Business Saver” option. You will notice that the promotional fare is indicated by a light blue triangle that appears next to the amount.

There is a difference of £13 between the actual Economy and Business Class fares, but that is because of the increased Air Passenger Duty that our lovely government imposes on air travellers.

There are flights available for a total of £133.71 though you may need to be flexible around times, i.e. I struggled to find any flights for a weekend in Geneva (i.e. leaving Friday evening and return Sunday evening) but that is not surprising, given the number of business people returning to Switzerland on a Friday after working in London.

As you can see, that fare books into a P class, which for Aegean Airlines Miles + Bonus members will earn 500 miles each way. Lufthansa/Swiss Miles & More earns 750 on the other hand, but I value the Aegean ones more, plus they contribute to me renewing my Star Alliance Gold status for another year.

This might be a good time to book if you’re thinking of visiting Switzerland. I personally love Swiss and have flow them in Europe on numerous occasions (both in Business and Economy), as well as longhaul (e.g. on my last trip to Johannesburg).

P.S. This post is not endorsed or sponsored in any way by Swiss or anyone else.

]]>thirdpassportSample bookingSwiss Example FareAegean earning chart for SwissMy Virgin Atlantic experience to Atlantahttps://thirdpassport.wordpress.com/2015/06/05/vs-atlanta/
Fri, 05 Jun 2015 00:25:26 +0000http://thirdpassport.wordpress.com/?p=20The last time I flew Virgin Atlantic was over 3 years ago to NYC, so my trip to Atlanta was a good time to see how the service has changed in that period. The answer is … a few things and not all of them positive!
Map courtesy of greatcirclemapper.net

The booking process was fairly simple. I was taking advantage of a redemption sale earlier in the year and booked a couple of economy seats for 26,250 miles plus £251.58 in tax and other charges. We could have paid £25 per passenger per sector to select a seat, but being the organised traveller that sets a reminder for when the check-in opens, I decided to risk it and select two seats together when web check-in opens. Virgin Atlantic (VS) Flying Club Red (FC) member can choose seats for free up to 3 days before departure, however this does not apply to non-members! So, even though I picked my seat I couldn’t select one for my travel companion until general check-in opened. In the end it wasn’t an issue and we got the seats we wanted.

Speaking of seats, I found them OK. Not too bad as I managed to get a few hours sleep on the way there and back. Having said that, I tend to fall asleep before take off, so the seat would have to be extremely uncomfortable for me to struggle. I find some of the BA shorthaul seats have a headrest with a bump in the middle which make it impossible to sleep with the head facing forward. Resting on the left or right is a bit awkward as my Bose Quiet Comfort headphones get in the way.

No amenity kits were distributed on the way out as it was a day flight, but got a small amenity kit on the way back. It contained eyeshades, toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, ear plugs and a barely usable pen.

The A330 that I was flying in was equipped with the Veria entertainment system which had enough content to keep me busy on both flights, however I found the touch screen to be a royal pain in the back side to use. Trying to touch the buttons on the corners of the screen was really difficult and random buttons would get pressed instead. Changing the volume requires surgical precision and, not being a surgeon, I gave up on in the end. I imagine that passengers in Premium Economy and Upper Class have a better time with it as they get a separate wired touchpad.

What I really liked was having the option to use my mobile during the flight. Granted I didn’t make or receive any calls but I did receive a text message (yay!). The service was provided though AeroMobile.

My biggest disappointment was the food. Granted I wasn’t expecting a feast but I was surprised how little food was served. My beef casserole had a total of two (2) pieces of beef in it, two carrots, and a bit of mash. The Gü dessert was lush. Second surprise was the fact that there were snacks available on board … for purchase, which reminded me of no-frills airlines. The service was just ok, it felt that the cabin crew were busy and not paying attention. My companion asked for two cans of diet coke (they are tiny!) a few times and every time he only got one.

My dinner on the way the flight back was absolutely lovely though (green chicken curry). However breakfast contained a total of 47 grams of sugar which was a bit sickly.

Overall the flights were ok, they took us to where we wanted to go and we got there on time and safely. Would I have paid the £750ish cash that would have been required to get the same flights if I wasn’t using my miles? Definitely not.

A video photo album (complete with cheesy music) is also available on YouTube:

* A Preferred Rewards Gold Cardmember must enrol their Preferred Rewards Gold Card into the offer first and then spend £100 or more in a single transaction on flights, pre-paid hotels, car hire or experiences on their Preferred Rewards Gold Card online at American Express Travel between 21 May – 30 June 2015 (dates inclusive) in order to receive a one-off £50 statement credit. Offer excludes cruises and The Hotel Collection. Offer limited to one £50 statement credit per Account. The statement credit will be issued within 3-5 business days of the qualifying spend but may take up to 8 weeks to show on your Account. UK Cards only. Limited to 5,000 enrolments.

I use Amex Travel for a lot of my travel booking as I don’t get charged an additional fee for using my Amex, but also, I get quadruple Membership Rewards points on those bookings.

If you are an existing card holder you can register for the offer here.

If you live in the UK and would like to apply for a new American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card and get 22,000 Membership Rewards points for spending £2,000 in the first three months of members, you can do so here. (Full disclosure: I will earn 9,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply through this link).

Just a little reminder that normally when applying for this card, new cardholders will get 18,000 Avios (assuming they haven’t held an Avios-earning card issued by Amex in the past 6 months) on spending £3,000 in the first 3 months of membership. This used to be 19,000 Avios when referred by an existing cardholder.

The offer above is different in both the rewards that are on offer (only 6,000 Avios + £50 credit) as well as the conditions that need to be met in order to get the rewards, i.e. 6,000 Avios are awarded on first spend and £50 credit awarded on spending £100 in the first 3 months.

This offer is not such a great deal as you are essentially giving away 12,000 Avios for £50, working out at 0.42p per Avios. Considering that you can easily redeem Avios for about 1p and sometimes more (my redemptions on Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines in Business Class worked out at about 2-3p per Avios), you would be better off taking the additional 12,000 Avios awarded when applying for the card direct, instead of accepting the offer promoted by British Airways during the booking process.

Anyone reviewing my ‘Top Ten Airports’ list on Flight Memory would notice that along three London airports and a few continental European hubs, Thessaloniki makes an appearance near the top. The city has a lot to offer as a tourist destination on its own but also as get way to the beautiful Halkidiki peninsula and even though it is the second-largest city in Greece it can be surprisingly expensive to reach from London. “Low Cost” carriers EasyJet and Ryanair fly direct year round, while BA offer only a seasonal service. Aegean Airlines does not offer any direct flights and a connection is Athens is required.

As a big fan of BMI’s Diamond Club frequent flyer programme before the airline was taken over by BA, I had redeemed my miles on flights to SKG with Star Alliance member airlines Austrian, Lufthansa, and Swiss on a regular basis, however since the takeover of BMI my Diamond Club miles could only be transferred to Avios and no longer used for Star Alliance redemptions.

Unfortunately availability of BA reward seats can be pretty bad on this route, being only seasonal. At the time of writing, there were only 3 seats outbound for the whole of August 2015 and no return seats. I did find a possible redemption for a couple of weeks in early September:

Mondays seem to be pretty good in terms of availability of single reward tickets, plus in this particular instance it qualified for BA’s “off-peak” redemption, reducing the total Avios required to 18500 instead of the usual 20000:

Looking up the cash price for the same flights brought up the following Euro Traveller fare, which also includes baggage:

The cash difference is £319, which is over £0.017 (1.7p) per Avios point. This is not the 3.3p for the Business Class redemptions to Asia I have booked in the past but I think that it is not bad value for money. However there is room for improvement by taking advantage of the option to pay more in cash and use fewer Avios:

Based on the above, here are my calculations for the value that can be obtained by using Avios:

What if you don’t have enough Avios to book this airfare would it make sense to purchase additional Avios? The answer appears to be ‘Yes’! The cost of 8000 Avios is £143, which would allow you to take advantage of the last Cash + Avios option above, paying a total of £143 + £129.26 = £272.26, i.e. a saving of £81, plus you end up with 600 Avios for future use.

The full breakdown:

Verdict: It pays to be a member of a frequent flyer programme, even if you haven’t yet had the chance to collect any miles/points as it allows you to take advantage of opportunities like the above.